Chronic Pain

If you have followed my blog for any time, you will know that Vitamin D is an incredibly important part of human physiology. Vitamin D is both a vitamin and a hormone, and must be respected for its diverse actions in the body. From cancer to auto immunity, we all must know what our vitamin D blood values are and should be (Optimal values are 50-80). Cholesterol became a household word and most people know that their total should be 200 or less to support a decrease in CV risk.

Vitamin D is just as important of a biomarker. If your doctor has not run this on your last physical, please ask for this to be run or call my office and we will run your chemistry and follow up to ensure you stay in the “sweet spot.” Please look at the role vitamin D plays in chronic pain.

Vitamin D deficiency plays a role in chronic pain disorders, according to a 2008 study in the journal “Pain Medicine.” Musculoskeletal pain and neuromuscular dysfunction that does not respond to medication may be due to or associated with vitamin D deficiency. The study documented opiate use of chronic pain patients who were vitamin D deficient compared with a group of chronic pain patients considered to have normal vitamin D levels. The vitamin D deficient group reported worse physical function and an overall perception of their health as being worse than that of the control group.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/276111-vitamin-d-in-neurological-disorders/#ixzz1pmD8P8UK

Are you one of the 69 million Americans who suffer from vestibular dysfunction?

Do you or a loved one, suffer from dizziness or balance disorders? Do not wait until a fall makes you aware of this issue. Integrative Assessment Technique provides a template to evaluate these types of disorders, by examining ones structure, emotions and biochemistry.

 A recent survey revealed that 69 million Americans over age 40—more than 35 percent—have some form of vestibular dysfunction, such as dizziness or balance problems, which increases the risk of a serious fall (Women’s Health advisor, August 2009). Survey results also showed that people with diabetes were 70 percent more likely to have vestibular dysfunction than people without diabetes.

“Vestibular dysfunction is a serious problem; it can potentially lead to falls, concussions, and fractures. The researchers found that people who were symptomatic (i.e., felt dizzy or off-balance) had a 12-fold increased risk of falling,” says Mukesh Prasad, MD, associate professor of clinical otorhinolaryngology atWeillCornellMedicalCollege.

“Unfortunately, many people fail to report episodes of dizziness or imbalance to their physicians, often because they are afraid that something very serious, such as a tumor, is causing their symptoms,” explains Dr. Prasad. “These study results emphasize the importance of reporting balance problems or dizziness to your primary care physicians; the earlier these problems are identifies, the better your chances are of preventing a fall.”

Many possible causes

Vestibular dysfunction may be caused by a wide variety of health conditions. “Visual deficits, nerve deficits, inner ear problems such as Meniere’s disease and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), arthritis, migraines, and increased stress and anxiety are possible causes,” says Dr. Prasad. One of the most common causes is BPPV, a common condition of the inner ear in which tiny calcium crystals called otoconia are dislodged from their appropriate location in the ear, which causes a sensation of vertigo or spinning. Other possible causes include head injury, stroke, viral infections, and high doses of certain anti-biotics.

People with diabetes are more likely to suffer from vestibular dysfunction because they often develop neuropathy, or nerve damage. This damage occurs more frequently in the legs and feet and can cause pain, tingling, and/or numbness, which diminishes the person’s ability to maintain balance. Medications also cause vestibular dysfunction. “Many times, it’s the combination of drugs rather than one drug,” says Dr. Prasad.

But in many cases, a specific cause for the imbalance is not found. According to Dr. Prasad, this is not cause for alarm, since the condition can still be treated.

Treatment options

Treatment depends on the cause, if a cause is identified. For example, visual deficits can often be resolved with corrective lenses, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses. Better control of pain and stiffness from arthritis with chiropractic care, exercises and/or medication can improve balance. Diabetic neuropathy requires better control of blood glucose levels, usually combining diets, exercise, and medications.

Inner ear problems such as BPPV and Meniere’s disease often require diagnosis and treatment by an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in ear, nose, and throat disorders. With BPPV, the doctor moves the patient’s head and body in a series of different positions, called the Epply maneuver, to get the otoconia back into their proper place, which stops the spinning sensation. Meniere’s disease, which may cause a ringing or roaring sound in the ears, hearing loss, pressure, or pain as well as dizziness, is thought to occur due to a change in fluid volume in the inner ear. Treatments that may lessen symptoms include dietary changes that reduce fluid retention, smoking cessation, stress reduction, medication, and in severe cases, surgery.

If you take any medications, especially two or more, your doctor needs to review all of your medications and determine which single drug or interaction between drugs may be causing your symptoms and make the appropriate reductions or changes in the medications.

A specialized physical therapy program called vestibular rehabilitation can assess causes of vestibular dysfunction and provide treatment.

Final words

“It’s amazing that people don’t think twice about needing glasses or dental work, but they neglect to report dizziness or balance problems to their doctors,” says Dr. Prasad. “Vestibular dysfunction is similar to sleep apnea—people used to be embarrassed about snoring, so they often didn’t report it. But once they found out about all the health problems associated with sleep apnea, and that snoring is a symptom, they reported it and got necessary treatment.

source: Weill Cornell Medical College, Women’s Health advisor, Volume 13/ Number 8/ August 2009

It’s a shame that in the sweets department, we continuously make the problem worse with what we believe is right and what the food manufacturers want us to believe.

Thus far, the herb, Stevia, is the best sugar substitute available. I agree, it does not do justice in all foods and is not perfect, but works to naturally sweeten many drinks.

Aspartimine-Nutri-sweet is by far the worst substance you can consume. It is an excito-toxin to the brain, and was forced through the FDA ruling by a very powerful politician. Google it, if you want to know more.

Splenda, the newest kid on the block of alternative sweeteners, has it’s share of problems too. Please read to following article and forward to your friends to educate yourself on the issues you need to know that influence your health. Remember that, a single packet of sugar in the raw, which is plain old sugar that has not been bleached, is only 13 calories. The key is consume as little as possible, but 1-2 packets a day is far from excess, and it beats continuously putting deleterious chemicals into your body day after day.

Dr. Marks

Splenda Essentials pretend to be health supporting, when in fact they seem to have more in common with pesticides than with sugar.

Sucralose, sold under the brand name Splenda, is simply chlorinated sugar; in chemical terms, it is a chlorocarbon. The idea behind this is that the body would no longer recognize it as sugar. But, as Johns Hopkins-trained physician and biochemist James Bowen, MD, points out, chlorine is “nature’s Doberman attack dog—a highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide in bleach, disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid.” Common chlorocarbons include chlordane and DDT, a product so harmful that it is now banned for agricultural use the world over.

Now Splenda is selling a product called Splenda Essentials. Different formulations contain B vitamins, antioxidants (vitamins C and E), or fiber. The marketing and advertising appear to be targeting health-conscious people who are interested in vitamins and nutrition—despite the fact that Splenda is highly toxic and has no place in a healthy diet.

Splenda’s advertising says the addition of B1, B5, and B6 “help support a healthy metabolism.” The antioxidant product “contains vitamin C and E, like those found in fruits and vegetables,” while the fiber product is touted as containing “one gram of healthy fiber.” For the vitamins, Splenda has added 20% of the recommended daily allowance; for the fiber, they’ve added 0.03% of the RDA. However, Splenda alters the microflora in the intestine and “exerts numerous adverse effects,” according to a DukeUniversitystudy, including an increase in body weight (not quite what a “diet aid” is supposed to do!) and an elevation of liver enzymes, which hurts the bioavailability of nutrients.

Dr. Bowen notes that the high solvency of chlorocarbons like Splenda attacks the human nervous system and can produce cancer, birth defects, and immune system destruction. In test animals, Splenda produced swollen livers (as do all chlorocarbon poisons), calcified their kidneys, shrunk their thymus glands (the biological seat of immunity) and produced liver inflammation.

The Alliance for Natural Health-Europe point out other adverse effects in animals as a result of sucralose ingestion: DNA damage in gastrointestinal organs, increase in the number of normal cells in the surface tissue of the kidney, hemorrhagic degeneration of the adrenal cortex (which regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism, salt, and water balance), incidence of cataracts, marked gastrointestinal disturbance, and deaths in pregnant rabbits and aborted rabbit fetuses. Splenda’s adverse effects in humans include headaches and migraines and a long list of consumer-reported side effects including skin rashes/flushing, panic-like agitation, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, swelling, muscle aches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pain.

Splenda has replaced aspartame as the number one artificial sweetener in foods and beverages; aspartame’s popularity declined after the public learned that that it is both a neurotoxin and an underlying cause of chronic illness. As Dr. Bowen warns, “We should not be fooled again into accepting the safety of a toxic chemical on the blessing of the FDA and saturation advertising. In terms of potential long-term human toxicity we should regard sucralose with its chemical cousin DDT, the insecticide now outlawed because of its horrendous long term toxicities at even minute trace levels in human, avian, and mammalian tissues.”

Splenda’s online marketing includes a series of YouTube videos called Splenda Essential Choices for Healthy Living, which features an ADA-certified Registered Dietitian giving people health advice—though we might call it “natural health lite”—including prominent endorsements of Splenda Essentials. Their marketing clearly targets health-conscious people interested in nutrition, while trying to pass off a toxic chemical as healthy.

Excerpt from article located at Welcome to the Alliancefor Natural Health – USA: http://www.anh-usa.org

Well here is another very important aspect of keeping healthy Vitamin D levels in our bloodstream. Remember, that unless you are outside with minimal clothing on without sun block for 20 minutes a day, it is virtually impossible to attain healthy levels. It’s a bit more difficult for us northeasterners to go out!! So take 4-5,000 iu day. Have your doctor run your blood chemistry and get the numbers. If you can’t, call me and I will. 50-80 ng/ml is your target!

Want to know more about Vitamin D and your health? Go back into my previous blogs.

Let the sun shine in!!

Dr. Marks

Vitamin D and fertility in men and women

Every year, billions are spent in fertility clinics; the result of which is often in vitro fertilization (IVF). About 5 years ago, I began receiving emails from a nurse practitioner in Indiana who works in a fertility clinic. Her experience was dramatic; 5,000 IU/day for both the man and woman frequently resulted in a healthy baby. However, her last email to me was quite sad, she was in danger of losing her job as her boss, a gynecologist, was losing money due to vitamin D. He ordered her to stop advocating it or lose her job.

Today, the Daily Mail and several other newspapers reviewed a lengthy article in The European Journal of Endocrinology that concluded, “Given the high prevalence of infertility as well as vitamin D insufficiency in otherwise healthy young women and men and the possible role of vitamin D in human reproduction, research might lead to new therapeutic approaches such as vitamin D supplementation in the treatment of female and male reproductive disorders.”

Critical to this carefully caged advice is the fact that men need help as frequently as the women do.  “Population-based studies found that in 30-40% of infertile couples the underlying cause is the male factor. In this context it should be mentioned that the overall semen quality of men is decreasing, which might partly be explained by environmental factors. Indeed, as much as 20% of young men have sperm concentration below the WHO recommendation level and 40% present with sperm concentrations below a level that is considered optimal for fertility.” Pretty amazing, especially when you realize these men have normal testosterone levels but that vitamin D levels are steadily decreasing.

The authors go onto say, “In northern countries, where a strong seasonal contrast in luminosity (sunshine intensity) exists, the conception rate is decreased during the dark winter months, whereas a peak in conception rate during summer leading to a maximum in birth rate in spring has been observed. Moreover, ovulation rates and endometrial receptivity seem to be reduced during long dark winters in northern countries.”

The takeaway message is the same as always, a message so common I should just start saying “ditto.” If you want to get pregnant, make sure you and your partner take 5,000 IU/day. If you don’t want to get pregnant, make sure you and your partner are on 5,000 IU/day plus a reliable method of birth control. I take no responsibility for surprise pregnancies.

A publication of the Vitamin D Council

Excerpt taken from article written by Dr. John Cannell

 This program includes a meal plan, supplement protocol, 3 unique weight management products including a delicious shake, and a shaker cup!

 Give us a call or stop by to get yours now!!!

 CARDIOVASCULAR  DISEASE  ASSESSMENT

Everyone is trying to lower cholesterol, but how low is too low, and when does this cause serious problems?

The following report, should give us caution when considering cardiovascular risk reduction.

Remember, primum non nocere!  First not to harm.

A new diagnostic laboratory test known as oxidized LDL, is the most cutting edge risk factor available for cardiovascular disease assessment.

It’s not just the the HDL (good cholesterol) or LDL (bad cholesterol) that counts.

If the LDL is oxidized, it is more atherogenic, meaning disease producing to your blood vessels.

We have paired with Shiel laboratories to provide this special test and all of your standard lab needs, to bring you the best of science and nature.

Happy holidays to you and your loved ones.

May happiness, health, joy and peace be with you.

Dr. Marks

Study finds that elderly with cholesterol less that 189 had a double risk of dying.

Physicians were informed to consider very low levels of cholesterol as potential warning signs of a serious disease or as signals of rapidly declining health.

It’s no secret that cell phones emit electromagnetic radiation, but is it harmful? The Centerof Disease Controlsays there’s no proof of harm. But the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer calls the radiation “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” and recent research,  including an ominous 2009 Journal of Clinical Oncology study, have drawn similar conclusions.

The average reduction of thoraco-lumbar scoliosis was 17.2° and was maintained for 24 months.

Function improved 70% and pain was reduced by 60%.

According to the Mayo Clinic (2009), ” Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that occurs most often during the growth spurt just before puberty. While scoliosis can be caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, the cause of most scoliosis is unknown. Most cases of scoliosis are mild, but severe scoliosis can be disabling. An especially severe spinal curve can reduce the amount of space within the chest, making it difficult for the lungs to function properly. Children who have mild scoliosis are monitored closely, usually with X-rays, to see if the curve is getting worse. In many cases, no treatment is necessary. Some children will need to wear a brace to stop the curve from worsening. Others may need surgery to straighten severe cases of scoliosis” (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/scoliosis/DS00194). They go on to say that signs and symptoms of scoliosis may include, uneven shoulders, ”Signs and symptoms of scoliosis may include: uneven shoulders, one shoulder blade that appears more prominent than the other, uneven waist, [and] one hip higher than the other” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2009, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/scoliosis/DS00194/ DSECTION=symptoms).

“If a scoliosis curve gets worse, the spine will also rotate or twist, in addition to curving side to side. This causes the ribs on one side of the body to stick out farther than on the other side. Severe scoliosis can cause back pain and difficulty breathing. Go to your doctor if you notice signs or symptoms of scoliosis in your child. Mild curves can develop without the parent or child knowing it because they appear gradually and usually don’t cause pain” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2009,http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ scoliosis/DS00194/ DSECTION=symptoms).

According to Lou et al. in 2010, three-dimensional lateral curvatures of the spine affect 2-3% of the adolescent population. According to ACT Youth who utilizes the 2000 US Census Bureau statistics, the number of adolescents in the United States is 41,747, 962. Averaging 2.5% of all adolescents having scoliosis equates to 1,043, 699 children facing issues as result of scoliosis. Lou et al. (2010) continue, “Brace (orthotic) treatment is recommended for growing children with curves of 25–45° Cobb angle. Surgery is the final treatment option for curves greater than 45° and its goals are to obtain safe correction, to produce a solid spinal fusion of the curve region, and to bring the spine and body into a more balanced position (p. 292). However, they conclude, “ Although brace treatment for scoliosis has been used for more than fifty years, its effectiveness is still debatable… Most studies used the amount of curve progression (as measured by the Cobb angle) to determine the effectiveness of brace treatment. Some defined success as 5° or less curve progression” (Lou et al., 2010, p. 292).

While allopathic medicine is still entrenched in the debatable practice of bracing and eventually surgery with the eventual progression of scoliosis, there are proven solutions. Morningstar concluded in 2011 that as a result of chiropractic spinal adjusting and chiropractic spinal manipulation, a thoracolumbar curvature (scoliosis) averaged a 17.2° reduction that was maintained for 24 months, the length of the study. Across all spinal groups, an average of 10° reduction was realized that persisted for 24 months, again the length of the study. Morningstar also concluded that pain scales reduced by 60% at 24 months and function improved by 70% while respiratory capacity increased 7%. Although this was a limited study with 28 patients, it is the first scientific conclusion that documents and reflects the results of what chiropractors have been realizing in their offices for over a 100 years.

The real issue is that if adolescents have their curvatures reduced by 10°-17.2°, then bracing and surgery are not an option because they will not be indicated. As bracing has been deemed “highly questionable” in the literature and now the literature reflects chiropractic as a highly effective modality, the standard of care across professions should be chiropractic care for scoliosis as first line treatment and should be standardized in every discipline.

Written by: Mark Studin DC, FASBE(C), DAAPM, DAAMLP

Reference:

Lou, E., Hill, D., Hedden, D., Mahood, J., Moreau, M., Raso, J., (2010). An objective measurement of brace usage for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Medical Engineering and Physics, 33(3), 290-294.

Morningstar, M. (2011). Outcomes for adult scoliosis patients receiving chiropractic rehabilitation: A 24-month retrospective analysis. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 10(3), 179-184.

High school kids who drink more than 5 cans of soft drinks per week are 15% more likely than their non-soda’d counterparts to act violently, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health.

Researchers surveyed 1,878 inner-cityBostonpublic school kids, and found an unequivocal correlation between self-reported soft-drinking and aggression. Among those who drank 14 cans/week—that’s roughly one third of the kids—58% had histories of violence toward peers, and an alarming 43% carried guns or knives. For those who drank 1 or less, the numbers were 35% and 23%—still disturbingly high, when you think about it.

“Dose-Dependent” Relationship

Investigator David Hemenway says the correlation between soft drinks and violence was “dose dependent,” and similar in magnitude to correlations between teen alcohol use and violence. The data were published earlier this week in the online edition of the British journal, Injury Prevention.

Is it the sugar (corn syrup) or the caffeine? Dr. Hemenway said nobody really knows. He stressed that correlation does not prove causation, though it does raise suspicion.

It also raises the specter of the “Twinkie Defense”—a weird judicial episode in which a killer pleaded—somewhat successfully–that his murderous behavior was triggered by junk food. HPC wonders whether it’ll also give the gun lobby some new ammo: “Guns don’t kill people, Soft Drinks do!” Whether or not soda makes kids go ballistic, it’ll probably help make ‘em fat and sick.Princetonresearchers showed that high-fructose corn syrup—the stuff Corn Refiners Association now wants us to call “corn sugar”—is significantly more metabolically detrimental than plain white sugar. Rats that free-fed on HFCS—a top ingredient in most non-diet sodas and many junk foods—showed a 48% greater weight gain, higher abdominal fat deposition and higher triglycerides than rats free-fed plain sugar water. These effects were independent of overall caloric intake.

“Some people have claimed that HFCS is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn’t true,” says neuroscientist Dr. Bart Hoebel, who specializes in appetite, weight and sugar addiction. “When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese — every single one. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this.” The study was published in the journal, Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior.

Cane vs. Corn

Predictably, the Corn Refiners Association decried the Hoebel study, claiming “gross errors” in the methodology. In a press release, CRA claims thePrinceton investigators “failed to put into perspective the excessive amount (of HFCS) consumed by the rats,” amounts they estimate would translate to roughly 3,000 kcal per day in human terms.

The issue has huge economic implications: HFCS is an ingredient in an estimated 40% of all prepared foods and beverages consumed in theUS, and the average American consumes nearly 38 pounds of the stuff every year, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. HFCS production requires millions of tons of domestically grown corn, which has bee federally subsidized to the tune of $40 billion since the mid 1990s.

The sweetener has been implicated as a major contributor to the diabetes and obesity epidemics by numerous studies. While none of these studies is definitive, the repeated bad press prompted corn refiners to seek a new image, hence the effort to rename HFCS as “corn sugar.”

Earlier in October, Federal District Judge Consuelo Marshall (Central California) ruled in support of a lawsuit brought by US cane sugar farmers against the corn refiners. The suit contends that CRA’s $50 million “Sweet Surprise” ad campaign, with it’s claim of equivalence between HFCS and plain sugar, constitutes false advertising. An FDA ruling on whether food manufacturers can legally call HFCS “corn sugar” is pending.

 Source: Holistic Primary Care

written by: Erik Goldman